Drafting board



July 31, 1934.

F. o. CLARK 1,968,744 DRAFTING BOARD Filed July 25, 19:53 2 Sheets-Sheet, 1

w m INVENTOR FRED 0. CLARK ATTORN EY July 31, 1934., E Q CLARK I DRAFTING BOARD Filed July 25. 1933 2 Slwets sheet 2 FY. W4

ATTQ R N EY Patented July 31, 1934 fl nmrso STATES PATENT orrrcs 1,968,744 YDRAFTING BOARD Fred- 0. Clark, Ridgewood, N. J. [Application July 25, 1933, Serial 310.682.0557

4.- ll-aims. (01. 45-51) This. invention relates to drafting tables.

*Theinvention, contemplates the provision of a foldable drafting table to conserve floor space where necessary, being adapted for use in draft "ml ing rooms or in the home where such atable' would not be in continuous use.

The invention comprises a? drafting board adapted to-be positioned at various angles when in use and the bottom face of whichformsthe .10. front paneled wall of a shallow cabinet occupying little space along a room wall when the board is out of use. i

" The invention also contemplates certain novel features of construction such as the provision of adjustable board supporting legs; guide means in the cabinet to facilitate ready manipulation of the board; counter-weighting the board to ease its operation; and the novel arrangement and practical construction of'the parts. i 205 "While; as here illustrated,theinvention may be carried out in a free standing cabinet, it is alsocontemplated that it may be built into a wall recess where the wall paneling may be imparted to the exposed board surface to provide an 125 uninterrupted wall having a uniform paneling scheme.

These and other objects of the invention and the means for their attainment will be more apparent from the following detailed description,

130 taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrating one embodiment by which the invention may be realized, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a drafting table constructed in accordance with the invenfid tion in a closed condition.

Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the drafting board in position for use.

Fig. 3 is a front view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail as .402 taken along the line 4-4' of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar detail as taken along the line 5-5 of Fi 3.

The cabinet comprises the side walls 10, the top 11 and may be provided with the rear wall 12.

f" The cabinet is dimensioned according to the size of the drafting board but is relatively shallow from front to back and for this reason may be provided with a deeper base portion 13.

The drafting board 14 is provided with the ilfliiusual drawing surface 15 and its'opposite face 16 may be provided with suitable paneling or the like 17.

One end of the board may be provided with projections in the form of rollers 18 adapted to be guided in the vertical ways 19, and to be positioned in the lower portion thereof when the. X

board is folded out of use. When the board is. in use, the rollers 18 may be nested in any of the several notches at the upper part of theways.

To insure against inadvertent derangement of the board when open, the ways 19 are formed with. a bend 20a as shown.

At the end of the board opposite where the rollers 18 are placed, there may be attached hinge fittings 21 for supporting legs 22 which are preferably made adjustable for height as at 23.

Hanger members 24 may be pivoted to the cabinet at 25 and removably attached to the sides of the board at 26.

While the use of counter-weights is not essential for small boards, it may be desirable to. use them in larger ones. Such counter-weights: are shown at 2'? attached by means of the. cords or chains 23 to the board as at 29 and trained over: pulley 30 fixed tothe cabinet. e i

The'counter-weights may movein guide boxes; 31 the bottoms of which may be provided with buffer portions such as the felt pads 32. 1.

The board 14 is preferably made somewhat narrower than the inside width of the cabinet so the ways 19 and the hangers 24 occupy the space so left.

When the board is folded up out of use, this space may be covered by side leaves 33 hinged at 34 to the side walls of the cabinet and arranged to overlie the lateral edges of the board to match the paneling thereof. Detent members 35 may be provided at the top and bottom of each leaf 33 engageable in shallow recesses in portions of the cabinet to maintain the leaves closed.

The board may be provided with suitable pull handles 36.

To open the table for use, an upward and outward pull is exerted on the handles 36 after the 1 side leaves 33 are swung outwardly as shown at the right in Fig. 3. The rollers 18 will move along the offset portion 20a of the ways until they find the first pair of notches 20. The legs 22 may now be swung into position and adjusted to the proper board supporting length.

Should a greater board tilt be desired, the rollers may be placed in the next pair of notches 20 and the legs suitably adjusted.

To close the table, the legs are first swung into overlying position on the board face 15 and the free end of the board is first pushed slightly downward to free the rollers from the notches, then pulled forward and upward to guide the rollers into the ways and then permitted to drop gravitationally into an upright position. The leaves 33 are now swung into the closed overlying position.

When it is desired to use a T-square on the board, one or both hangers may be disconnected from engagement with the board by passing the pivot pins 26 through the key slot openings 37 of the hangers and allowing the hangers to hang pendant. The hangers may be reconnected. to the board prior to closing the table.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple device for the purpose has been disclosed in the preferred form of its embodiment, but it is not desired to restrict the details to the exact construction shown, it being obvious that changes, not involving the exercise of invention, may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A drafting table comprising a cabinet having side walls and a front opening, a board adapted to fill the opening when in a vertical position and adapted to be swung into a substantially horizontal position for use as a drafting board, and hanger members pivotally connected to the top of the cabinet at one of their ends and to a mid portion of the lateral edges of the board at their other ends and adapted to support a portion of the weight of the board only during its movements to the various positions, and legs to support the free end of the board.

2. A drafting table comprising a cabinet having side walls and a front opening, a board adapted to fill the opening when in a vertical position and adapted to be swung into a substantially horizontal position for use as a drafting board, guide ways in the cabinet extending for the greater portion of the height thereof, rollers on the board adapted to move in the guide ways, and hanger members pivotally connected to the top of the cabinet at one of their ends and to a mid portion of the lateral edges of the board at their other ends, said hanger members being adapted to facilitate movement of the board from one position to another, and adjustable legs pivoted to the board and adapted to support the free end thereof.

3. A drafting table comprising a cabinet having side walls and a front opening, a board adapted to fill the opening when in a vertical position and adapted to be swung into a substantially horizontal position for use as a drafting board, guide ways in the cabinet running upward from the bottom for the greater portion of the height thereof, rollers on the board adapted to move in the guide ways, notches in the upper portion of the guide ways adapted to nest the rollers when the board is in the substantially horizontal position, hanger members pivotally connected to the top of the cabinet at one of their ends and removably connected to a mid portion of the lateral edges of the board at their other ends and adapted to support a portion of the weight of the board only while changing its positions, and adjustable legs to support the free end of the board when in extended position.

4. A drafting table comprising a cabinet having side walls and a front opening, a board adapted to fill the opening when in a vertical position and adapted to be swung into a substantially horizontal position for use as a drafting board, guide ways in the cabinet extending from the bottom to near the top thereof, rollers on one end of the board adapted to move in the guide Ways, counter-Weights attached to the roller supporting end of the board to facilitate its movement, hanger members pivotally connected to the top of the cabinet at one of their ends and removably connected to a mid portion of the lateral edges of the board at their other ends, and concealable adjustable legs adapted to support the other end of the board when in the latter position.

FRED O. CLARK. 

